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Taser used to subdue
him; 'death followed
By Janice Morse

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- A Forest
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Hendri x, 27, were "off the
scale," Dr. Richard P. Burkhardt said, addi ng that a
plastic bag containing co-

caine had also been found in

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tine.
Mr. Hendrix died Dec. 17
soon after Hamilton police
stunned him with a Taser.
Specifics of the incident's
timing were unavailable

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T est results for Marvin

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him last week had high levels
of cocaine in his blood and
uri ne, the Butler County coroner said Wednesday,

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Mr . Hendrix' s small intes-

Wednesdav.

Whether the Taser played
a significant role in Mr. Hendrix's death remains under

investigation, Dr. Burkhardt
said. It could take up to six
weeks for laboratory test results and other analyses to
be completed.
City police have not finished probing the incident,
although a preliminary investigation showed that Sgt.
Dan Pratt's use of the Taser
appeared to be in compliance
with departmental proce-

dures, said Officer Don Taylor, Hamilton police spokesman. Sgt. Pratt returned to
normal duty after a brief
administrative leave.

Inve st igators sa y Mr.
Hendr ix apparen tly swa llowed a bag of cocaine to

hide it fro m
police dur ing
a traffic stop
several hours
befo r e he
died. He later
ca lled fo r
Hendrix
e me rge ncy
aid, saying he
was feeling ill.
When paramedics arrived,
Mr. Hendrix struggled with
them and with police, so Sgt.
Prall used the Taser to subdue him.
Mr. He ndrix went int o
cardiac arrest in the arnbulance en route to Fort Hamilton Hospital, where he was
pronounced dead.
Mr. Hendrix has twice
served state prison terms for
drug offenses, records show.
He was last released in Ianuary 1999 after serving about
three years for drug trafficking and carrying a concealed
weapon.
Hundreds of police agencies, including Cincinnati,
use Taser. Hamilton police
began using the Air Taser in
October.
The Air Taser uses a cartridge to fire dart-like probes
attached to wires. When the
probes contact a person, the
wires delive r battery-powered electrical impulses.
The manufacturer, Taser
International of Scottsda le,
Ariz., says similar devices
have been used fur more
than 20 years and " no deaths
have ever been directly at- \
,
tributed to the Taser."